Fall for An Apple Pumpkin Galette and a Food Gal Giveaway
A taste of autumn with apples and pumpkin.
I admit I do mourn the end of summer’s sweet berries and peaches.
But the start of fall is definitely easier to swallow with a bounty of fresh apples to bake with.
“Apple Pumpkin Galette” caught my attention because of the addition of the autumn hard squash in it. The recipe is from the new “Sunset Cook Taste Savor” (Oxmoor House) of which I received a review copy.
The cookbook spotlights recipes for 16 ingredients including artichokes, avocados, chicken, cheese and apples.
The straightforward dough recipe for the galette makes enough for two of these free-form tarts, but you can just freeze half the batch to use at another time.
The dough is rolled out into a circle. You fill the center with slices of apples and pumpkin — or kabocha squash, as I used as recommended by the cookbook — that have been tossed with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, a dash of bourbon and sugar. Then, fold the edges of the dough over, before baking.
With Sunset’s meticulous testing, I was taken aback by the amount of sugar called for in the filling, which seemed like way too much. The recipe originally called for 1/3 cup brown sugar plus 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar for three apples and 1 1/2 pounds of squash (about half of a small pumpkin or kabocha). So, I decided to cut the amount of granulated sugar back to 3/4 cup, which turned out to be plenty. But feel free to add more if you have a big sweet tooth.
The pastry bakes up flaky with a hearty filling. My husband was not too keen on the addition of the squash. He would have preferred an unadulterated apple tart instead. Me? I kind of liked how the kabocha made this tart unique. It gave it a slightly savory quality and added a twist.
One of fall’s earliest apples: the SweeTango.
The original recipe calls for Granny Smith apples, but I used SweeTango ones instead, of which I had received a sample. The SweeTango is a cross between a Honeycrisp and a Zestar! apple. It’s got a great crunch and wine-y, spicy flavor.
SweeTango apples are an early season variety. They’re available at Walmart through the end of September, and at Mollie Stone’s and Safeway stores hrough October.
CONTEST: Three lucky Food Gal readers will each win a couple of pounds of SweeTango apples, an apple timer, a cutting board, a T-shirt, and a reusable grocery bag. Entries are limited to those in the continental United States, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. Entries will be accepted through midnight PST Sept. 28. Winners will be announced Sept. 30.
How to win?
You already read how I used these apples in an intriguing galette. Just tell me how you would most enjoy eating these apples — and why. Best three answers win the prize packages.
A rustic tart to enjoy.
 Apple Pumpkin Galette
(Serves 8 to 10)
Half-recipe Easiest Pie Dough (recipe follows)
1 1/2 pounds peeled, sliced baking pumpkin or kabocha squash
3 large Granny Smith apples or SweeTango apples (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored and sliced
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon each ground nutmeg, ground cloves and salt
3 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons bourbon or whiskey
2 tablespoons coarse decorating or turbinado sugar
Set dough on a lightly floured surface and roll into a large round about 1/8-inch thick. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and chill until ready to fill.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack set on bottom rung. Lay pumpkin slices on a greased baking sheet. Roast, turning over once, until tender when pierced, about 10 minutes.
Mix apples, spices, salt, flour, both sugars and bourbon until evenly coated. Add pumpkin and toss just to combine.
Pour apple filling into center of dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border. Fold edges over fruit, allowing dough to pleat as you go. Dip a pastry brush in water and brush folded edges of dough. Sprinkle edges with coarse sugar.
Bake galette until browned and bubbling, about 1 1/4 hours. Let cool before cutting.
Easiest Pie Dough
(Makes 2 9-inch crusts)
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2/3 cup very cold water
Whisk together flour, sugar and kosher salt in a food processor. Add the butter and pulse into pea-size pieces. Drizzle the very cold water over crumbs and pulse just until moistened. Turn dough out onto a work surface and gather into a ball, turning to combine any dry crumbs. Divide dough in half, form each piece into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill at least 30 minutes. If only making one galette, you can place the remaining half of the dough in a plastic bag, seal well, and freeze.
Recipes adapted from ”Sunset Cook Taste Savor”
Winner of Last Week’s Contest
In the previous Food Gal contest, I asked you tell me about your favorite breakfast treat. Winner will receive an almond packed prize from the Almond Board of California. It includes 1 pound of whole natural almonds, one jar of almond butter, 1 pound of sliced almonds, an insulated travel pouch for breakfast on the go, and a $20 VISA gift card to help you purchase everything else you need for a hearty breakfast.
Congrats to:
Margot C., who wrote: “McIlpenny Hens with Grits and Shrimp. My favorite breakfast is one that now I very rarely get to have. Grits give my husband the heebie jeebies (he says, I’m pretty sure he’s never even tried them) and somehow breaking out the shrimp just for myself seems churlish.
The McIlpenny Hens part though; I make all of the time. I grew up in New Orleans and everyone makes these there though they don’t call them that. Basically it’s a poached egg with a few grains of coarse salt, a pat of butter and a liberal bunch of drops of Tabasco Sauce in the bottom of the poaching cup. No less a cook and great soul than Paul McIlhenny himself showed me how to make this when I was a teenager (though he didn’t call them McIlpenny Hens either!). The name was attached years later when I made them for my friends in the East Village in New York in the 1980s where they were very popular.
To make the entire breakfast you need to have grits of course (more butter, more salt, more Tabasco – oh yes) and fresh head-on shrimp. Rinse those shrimp very thoroughly in cold water then just cook those wet bad boys in a shallow pan adding butter and minced garlic as the water begins to cook away. If they are gigantic this might take all of 7 minutes.”
More Apple Recipes: Apple-Stuffed Biscuit Buns
And: Apple Snacking Spice Cake by Joanne Chang
And: Babette Friedman’s Apple Cake
And: Braised Chicken with Calvados by Matthew Accarrino
And: Apple Brownies
And: Apple-Pork Ragu with Papparadelle by Stephanie Izard
Honeycrisps are my favorite eating apple… so I’d be intrigued to try the related SweeTango, but wonder if fresh applications might showcase its flavor/texture better than baked (that being the case for its parent apple, the Honeycrisp)?
Some ideas off the top of my head are: shredded into a slaw with some lemon juice and julienned carrot (perhaps a few raisins?), chopped and included in a salad with kale and roasted squash and sunflower seeds, and sliced up to dip in almond butter (or my favorite seasonal dipping condiment, pumpkin-pecan butter). As to the last one, I often find that the best way to “get to know” a new-to-me apple variety is with some good ol’ fashioned slicing and dunking!
Thanks for this opportunity to win apples, and your galette looks DELICIOUS! I am a huge kabocha fan too and will definitely be trying this with the first kabocha from my CSA share.
A wonderful galette and original combination! Fall for dessert…
Cheers,
Rosa
This is so interesting. I want to taste this mix of pumpkin and apple! What a perfect fall mix.
This galette looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it.
I like to just slice my apples and dip them in peanut butter or nutella. Simple and tasty!
I like to make a yummy toffee apple dip and dip slices of apples in it! Why? Because dipping is always a fun way to eat apples… and great for parties!
What a delicious, sweet tart!
I would use these in apple crisp. I love the softness of the apple with the buttery crunchy topping. Heaven in my mouth!
I cook constantly due to food allergies and use as much fresh fruits and veggies as possible.
Breakfast would be cream of rice with warm apple compote and dries cranberries
Lunch would be hearty salad with arugula and spinach topped with sliced apple, walnuts, sunflower seeds, a dash of pink Himalayan salt and fresh lemon squeezed on it.
For a dinner dish I would use sliced apples in a slow roasted pork dish with onion and cider and a side of quinoa.
Dessert could be something like a small coconut apple tart (made with spelt or almond flour) topped with a light dusting of Saigon cinnamon or apple pie spice.
Yummmm! What a glorious winning apple pumpkin galette this is! I must make this winner soon! Yummmmm!
What a great idea Carolyn…apples and pumpkin…this is sure fit for Fall…
Have a wonderful week 😀
I would love to use these in a lazy Sunday morning brunch of an eggy apple bread pudding with walnuts and raisins and a butter caramel sauce. I had a bread pudding like this recently and have been craving it since.
i’d love to use apples like these in a simple double crusted pie. that was the very first thing i made from scratch so many years ago, and it’s my go-to dessert now for any occasion. i’d definitely make an apple cake too, mostly because i’ve been craving some penuche frosting. 🙂
I know it’s not creative, but I love eating these apples plain. It is the first apple my little boy ever ate, and he loves them. They taste like candy and have a fantastic texture.
I do think they would make a delicious caramel apple!
I’d love to use these apples in my Deep Dish Apple Crisp. It’s absolutely loaded with apples, so much so that it almost overflows the pan! I add the best quality cinnamon and dark brown sugar, and the combination of the sweet/tart apples and the spicy cinnamon, along with the deep taste of the brown sugar is heavenly.
I’ve been reading about the SweeTango apples and would love to try them. It’s been years since I’ve had a great apple, so I’d eat them out of hand to be able to savor the unique sweet/tangy taste and the ultra satisfying crunch.
After that, I’d dip some slices in natural peanut butter.
I’m sad I missed this – it looked fantastic. As a local SF blogger, I love all your work and will be on top of it the next giveaway!
I like eating apples in plain slices so I would go up to the rooftop of my building overlooking Lake Michigan and enjoy them on a cool autumn day here in the great city of Chicago to celebrate the end of summer and a great 2013!
To be honest, this pumpkin and apple galette is quit intriguing, but I’ve been having my mind set on making some apple fritters with some Chinese cinnamon that I received the other day. Last time I had an apple fritters was when I was a kid and now I’m craving them. Thanks for the chance to win some apples!
What a great looking galette, Carolyn! Eventually I must try my hand at baking this, but reading your description of the SweeTango got my juices going as to how to transform these sweet and tangy apples into delicious treats adults and children alike can appreciate. My son’s 5th birthday is coming up soon so I, along with his approval, have decided to throw a fall frenzy/Halloween themed birthday for him and his friends along with their parents complete with a pumpkin decorating station, haunted house, and an autumn obstacle course. These sweet and crunchy apples would be the perfect base for my “do it yourself†caramel apple station. There’s nothing better than plunging that fresh crisp apple into warm, ooey gooey homemade caramel and making it extra special by customizing it with toppings such as nuts, rainbow sprinkles, and crushed up cookie pieces. While the kids play and satisfy their sweet tooth, I had thought of making a spiced hard apple cider with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon to compliment the autumn harvest themed meal for the adults (the kids will be making their own pizzas, as per my son’s request). I believe the spicy, winey flavors you described of these apples make them a perfect vessel to create this fall favorite.
Pingback: Food Gal » Blog Archiv » Cozy Up To These Pumpkin Rolls